Change of Destiny
by Jaded-Skywalker
Summary: The rebels are approaching the Death Star with hopes of destroying it. As they get closer to victory, Darth Vader decides to take matters into his own hands. But not the way ANH shows it. AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Alrighty! I can't believe that I've FINALLY posted a fic other than a one-shot! Yay for me! Any ways, you read the summary, and that pretty much sums it up of what sets up this story. Because of the way I wanted the plot to go, I had to change a few things. So this won't go exactly according to the way the Original Trilogy does, but it will for the most part. Well, I practically just contradicted myself, didn't I? Any ways, you get the point. : D

I've already got about four or five chapters finished and ready to go. So the updates at first will probably be pretty quick. I'm not so sure about the chapters later on, so you'll just have to trust me! If you want to be reassured or something, just go to my profile and read the area called 'Writings'. Also, read the area above it (I think) called 'Reviews'. That way I don't have to repeat anything else!

Speaking of reviews, I really like reviews! I'll most likely be much more motivated and much less prone to fall into a depression of Writer's Block if I get reviews. Yipee! Any ways, reviews would be really nice, especially for this first chapter. That way I can see what you readers out there think of it. I love corrective criticism just as much as praise, so the only thing I won't accept would be flames.

Thanks very much for being so patient as I ramble on, and please enjoy (and review)!

-Mara E. Jade

P.S.

Can't forget this!

Thank you so much, Porcelainheart94!!! You're an awesome beta!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any part of Star Wars. Not the plot, characters…

(I have a feeling that I'm going to be getting very sick of writing those things)

**Chapter One**

Darth Vader's loud and raspy breathing could be heard as he walked down the corridor, looking left and right.

_Where could she be? _He thought. My_ master said she was here, on this level. _

As he turned the corner, he saw the very person he was looking for.

"Jade," Vader called to her.

A girl still in her late teens turned her head to Vader's call.

"What is it, Vader," came the cool reply with narrowed green eyes. "You know I only answer to my master."

"Mara Jade," Vader ignored her snide remark. "It's been awhile. But I have no time for talk. I hear from our master that you are an exceptional pilot."

She only nodded in reply.

"Good, because I need those skills. I need you to take a TIE fighter down into the trench of the Death Star where the rebels are currently. We need a better pilot than those clones."

"And why am I needed to do this? Why can't you do it yourself?"

"Because our master has commanded me to do something else equally urgent. And because it is our master's wish for you to do what I have asked you."

Vader knew that Jade couldn't refuse now. But before he could explain the situation, Jade interrupted.

"I already know the situation, Vader. Like you said, no time for talk. I'm ready for anything."

Vader nodded, and then left Jade to do her job.

---

Mara Jade began a brisk pace to the hanger. Her red-gold hair that was in a tight braid was swinging back and forth. Once she was in the hanger, she quickly found a TIE fighter and took off.

As soon as Mara was in the trench, she didn't wait for any help. She knew her mission, and her target. And with that, Mara Jade went to work.

Soon after Mara had arrived, only one rebel was left.

_He's a tricky one, _Mara thought. _It almost seems as if…_ _He is! He's Force sensitive, _Mara realized. Then, with a feral smile, she thought, _well, he won't be sensitive much longer. _

But Mara didn't get the chance to relieve the rebel of his life, because, right after, a TIE fighter behind her got blown to bits, and it's wing clipped Mara's.

_What the kriff was that? _ She wondered in bewilderment. Then she saw a light freighter that hadn't been there ten seconds ago. But Mara didn't have time to ponder about the light freighter, because her fighter was spinning out of control from her clipped wing.

Mara struggled with the controls of the fighter, and soon had them under control. But right after that, behind her the Death Star exploded into a storm of pieces.

_What the kriff! What just happened?_

But Mara soon found out what just happened. Because with the impact of the explosion behind her, Mara and her fighter once again started spinning out of control. She sighed with frustration. Mara tried to settle her dizzy mind and tame her fighter. Soon, she had it under control again. _That's more like it_, she thought with satisfaction. But then Mara realized that she had a huge problem:

She had nowhere to go to.

---

Darth Vader ran to the closest hanger in an awkward manner. _I really hate this suit. But I can't think about that right now! I have to get out of here! _Vader had been told to check something on the Death Star for his master. But Vader abandoned all hopes of finishing his task because the Death Star was about to explode. Once he was in the hanger, he found a small shuttle that had a hyperdrive and took off.

---

"Wahoo!" Han Solo yelled over the comm. Luke Skywalker smiled. Han had come back.

"Come on kid, let's blow this thing and get out of here!" Han told Luke.

Luke targeted with the Force and let his proton torpedo go. It sunk into the hole and the Death Star began to explode. Luke sighed with great relief as he directed his X-wing out of the explosion.

_I did it._

"Hey, Luke." Leia's voice through the comm. broke through his thoughts. "Do you see that TIE fighter spinning out of control about a few kilometer left of you?" Luke looked where she had described and saw it.

"Yeah, Leia. What about it?"

"The pilot might have valuable information." She paused, and then continued. "We need you to _escort_ him and bring him back to the base." Then, as if Leia felt like she needed a justification for doing this, she said, "Besides, he has nowhere to go; TIE fighters don't have a hyperdrive, am I right?"

"Yeah, you're right," Luke replied with a sigh. "I'll be back shortly. But, Leia, what if the pilot becomes hostile?"

"Like I said, he has _nowhere to go_. We are his best hope. He'll agree if he's at least moderately sane."

"Ok, see you soon." Luke ended the call. He looked out of his cockpit and saw that the fighter was still where it had last been. _Probably trying to figure out what to do next, _Luke mused. Luke flew his X-wing over closer to the fighter and sent a calling sequence to it.

"Imperial fighter, please reply."

Shortly after, a sweet, melodic voice carried through to Luke.

The voice sounded nothing like a male.

_I hear you. What do you want? _

---

_Imperial fighter, please reply_

Mara had concluded that she would have to A, crash land on Yavin IV, and hope that she can rebuild her fighter without the help of the rebels. B, ask help from the rebels and risk her being captured, or killed. Or C, crash land on Yavin IV and steal a ship from the rebels and risk being caught. Mara had weighed the risks and decided that C was the best choice. That was when the message from the rebel had come in.

Mara finally decided to answer it, because either way, all hopes of sneaking to Yavin IV were crushed.

"I hear you." Mara had finally replied. "What do you want?" _Never was the diplomatic type…_ Mara mused.

_Please follow my course to Yavin IV. _

Mara snorted. _If you even _think_ I'm going to follow you..._ But Mara knew that she had to follow the X-wing, because it was her only hope. _Some hope THAT is. _

"Ok, just lead the way."

---

Luke sighed in relief. The pilot had agreed. But the pilot wasn't just a pilot; the pilot was a female pilot. Luke really didn't know that much about the Empire; he didn't know if female pilots were rare or not. But he did know this: that this pilot was no ordinary girl. Even through the comm. unit Luke could feel something about her. There was a certain… aura about her. All Luke knew, was that he could not wait until he got to meet her in person. _Oh great,_ Luke thought. _I'm falling for a girl that I don't even know. An _Imperial _girl_,_ no less. _

--

**What do you think? Well, I really want to know, so please review! **

**-Mara E. Jade**

**P.S. **

**One thing I'd really like to know about this first chapter is if I'm writing the characters all right, and if Mara is written too much like a Mary Sue. So if you could tell me your opinion, that'd be great! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey you guys, I realize that I caused a bit of confusion last chapter. When I asked if you would tell me if Mara was a Mary Sue or not, I meant to ask if **_**I was writing**_** Mara like a Mary Sue. **

**Thanks for all the wonderful feedback I've gotten from ya'll! It really boosted my confidence about this fic. **

**DaughteroftheEmpire – I'm sorry I couldn't send you a private reply to your review. Any ways, thanks for the review! I hope what I said above cleared some confusion about the whole Mary Sue thing. Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own one vapin' character. Not even a plot idea. Hey, what can I say? I'm poor. **

**Thanks Porcelainheart94! **

**Chapter Two**

The moment when Luke and the Imperial pilot landed, and Luke stepped out of his cockpit to see the girl doing the same, he knew that there was definitely something special about her. For one, she was _beautiful. _Even when Luke hadn't seen her face yet, her red-gold hair dazzled him. It shone in Yavin IV's sunlight. When she turned her piercing stare to him, he had seen the brilliantness of her vibrant, yet jade green eyes. He nearly gasped. Luke retained his composure and continued walking over to her---

Mara hopped out of the cockpit and saw the rebel pilot walking over to her. She had thought it over while flying down, and had decided to keep her status as the Emperor's Hand a secret. She would simply be a pilot. She just hoped that this rebel didn't know that female pilots in the Empire were extremely rare.

Mara continued watching the rebel walk over to her. Mara suddenly realized that she was very thankful that almost all of her weapons were hidden on her person.

Being a highly trained assassin, Mara began to calculate in her head what the rebel looked like.

_Slightly short, tan skin, clear blue eyes… _

Mara's thoughts stopped for a moment as she nearly lost herself in his _very _blue eyes.

_Snap out of it, Jade! _She told herself, and went on with her description.

…_Sandy blonde hair, bad haircut. _

By this time, the rebel was in front of her and opened his mouth to speak.

"May I ask what your name is?"

Mara had been ready for that question, and lied as she had planned.

"Arica." Arica was an alias that Mara used quite often in her work.

The rebel nodded, and replied the favor.

"I'm Luke Skywalker."

But Mara had no intention of getting friendly with _Skywalker_.

He gestured for Mara to follow him.

Once they were both inside the rebel base, he told Mara,

"Arica, no harm will come to you if you cooperate."

Mara nodded warily in reply, then tensed up when he stepped behind her and put a cloth around her eyes.

"For security purposes." Skywalker told her.

Even though he wasn't super close behind her, she could still feel his warm breath down her neck. Mara nodded tersely in reply, because she couldn't trust herself to say anything else without cracking her voice. Once the cloth was tied around Mara's eyes, Skywalker took her hand and led her down several corridors. Mara tried remembering whether they had turned left or right, or how long they had walked without turning, but soon she couldn't.

After about ten minutes, they walked into a room. Mara could hear Skywalker shutting the door and walking over to her. He reached out and took the cloth from her eyes. Mara blinked, trying to adjust to the light. After glancing around the room, Mara realized that she was in a makeshift cell. She looked to Skywalker for an explanation and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'll be back soon. Please remember what I told you about cooperating."

With that, he left. After the door shut behind him, Mara plopped herself down in one of the straight back chairs in the small room. She began contemplating on the rebel's strange behavior. He was very courteous, and almost had a… _farm boy _aura about him. He certainly didn't seem like he had been in the rebellion for very long. Once Mara was done puzzling, she lifted the cloth that had been around her eyes. She felt some of it between her two index fingers and felt something else on the cloth:

Sand.

_How very strange._

---

Luke walked quickly to the hanger where everyone was meeting. Once he was there, he was greeted with thunderous applause and shouts of praise. Luke had nearly forgotten what had happened scarcely an hour ago. Destroying the Death Star had been eclipsed with dealing with the Imperial pilot. Which reminded Luke, he needed to find Leia. Soon he spotted her running towards him with Han.

"Congrats, kid!" Han told him, while patting him hard on the back.

"I couldn't have done it without you, Han," Luke replied modestly. Leia reached up and pecked Luke's cheek with a kiss. "Good job, Luke."

Luke smiled sheepishly, feeling somewhat out of place with all of the cheering.

"Leia, I have the pilot in that cell you told me to use. I told her I'd be back soon."

Han looked at Luke's face, then back at Leia's, clearly confused. But Leia didn't notice. Instead, she asked Luke,

"She?"

"Yes, her name is Arica. Are female pilots very rare for the empire?"

"I would think so." Leia replied slowly.

Then Han spoke up.

"Wait, who is this pilot any ways?"

Leia turned to Han and explained. "She's a pilot that survived the explosion of the Death Star, and I told Luke to bring her back here for questioning." Han nodded, finally understanding.

"Kid, in answer to your question, Yeah, female TIE fighter pilots is pretty rare. I would know. I went to the Military Academy of Carida."

"You did?" Leia asked, incredulous.

"Yep," Han replied. "Became a pilot, but got kicked out for saving Chewie's butt."

Chewbacca, hearing the comment, lumbered over to them and roared.

"I know, I know." Han replied to Chewie.

Luke turned the conversation back to the problem at hand.

"So, Leia, are you going to go back to Arica and question her now?"

"Well, you told her that you wouldn't be long, and we want to stay on her good side, so just hold on a minute and let me go tell Mon Mothma."

Luke nodded, then Leia walked away.

"So, kid, what does the girl look like?"

Luke turned to Han, not at all surprised at Han's question. But Luke didn't know how to answer it. _I can't tell Han that I practically swooned when I saw her; he already knows how I reacted to seeing Leia. He thinks I'm enough of a kid already. _

"She's attractive." Luke finally replied, not sure of what else to say.

Han looked at Luke for a long moment, then asked,

"Come on, Luke, _how_ attractive?"

"Depends on your taste."

"My _taste? _Kid, if a woman's attractive, she qualifies."

"Why don't you just see her yourself?" Luke instantly regretted saying that.

"Sorry, Kid. Didn't realize you were uncomfortable with this type of thing. Forgot where you came from for a moment."

"Listen, Han. I'm not uncomfortabletalking about it, I'm just… ok, Han. She's beautiful. I've never seen a girl like her before."

Han's eyes widened at Luke's confession then became easy going again.

"Well, from where you're from, you wouldn't see that many beautiful women. But- hey, did you say _girl_?"

Luke ignored the remark about his home world and replied,

"Yeah, she looks like she could be scarcely eighteen."

"Man," Han said, momentarily forgetting what she looked like. "She's got to be one heck of a pilot to be that young."

Before Luke could reply, Leia came walking back with Mon Mothma.

"We're going to go ask Arica a few questions. Would either of you two like to come along? You could stay outside the cell and be 'guards'."

Although Leia was just teasing them, Han was interested in seeing the hotshot girl pilot. So Han eagerly replied,

"Sure, Princess. Never know what a pilot's got up her sleeve."

Luke just shrugged and said,

"Sure, why not. I told her I'd be back."

**-- **

**Thanks for reading so far! **

**Please review, **

**Mara E. Jade**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry sorry sorry! I'm so sorry I'm posting this so late! But because I was so late with posting this one, I'll post the fourth chapter a lot sooner! I'm already sending it to my beta. Also, this one can be worth the wait – this one is a lot longer! **

**Thanks again, Porcelainheart94! **

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it! **

**Chapter Three**

The group walked for a little while until reaching the makeshift cell. When they opened the door, they found their pilot absently polishing a blaster pistol. When she looked up to see guests in her cell, she hurriedly put away the blaster.

Leia whispered in Luke's ear. "You forgot to take her weapons?"

"Oops," Luke suddenly felt sheepish as he realized he had made a critical mistake. "Sorry Leia, I forgot."

Leia just sighed and then faced the girl her age.

"I'm Leia Organa, and this is Han Solo," Leia gestured to Han behind her. "You must be Arica."

Leia sat down in a chair nearby. Mon introduced herself as well, and sat down next to Leia. Han and Luke stood by the door, far enough away to whisper without being heard, but close enough to hear the conversation in front of them.

Han leaned in towards Luke. "You were right, kid. She is just a girl."

Luke just nodded in reply, his eyes focused on Arica.

"You were also right about her being attractive. That girl's one good piece of work right there."

Arica, Luke noticed, glared daggers at Han. Han just winked. Luke saw the glare and wink and just rolled his eyes, pretending to be carelessly annoyed. But inside, Luke was glaring at Han, too. _Just because a girl's pretty doesn't mean she's a bimbo. _

_---_

Mara caught Solo's remark and glared. She had been listening to their hushed conversation (with a bit of an assist from the Force) instead of the two women in front of her. _I'm not just a girl and I'm not a 'piece of work', you piece of sithspit, _Mara thought angrily. Unfortunately, Solo was not Force sensitive, and so she couldn't send that thought his way. Mara turned back to Organa and Mothma and began to listen.

"… A few questions for you, if you don't mind," Mothma told Mara politely. "If you could cooperate then this will go by really quick."

Mara cast a scorned look around her little room and told them in reply,

"Well I don't have much of a choice, do I?" _I never have a choice… _

"There's always a choice," Organa told her.

Without a reply, Mothma began the questions.

"Please tell us all the information you know."

_I'm _definitely _not telling you everything I know… But, I need to tell them something, something that a pilot would know, something unimportant. Or I could just tell them nothing, and chop 'em all up with my lightsaber. _Mara laughed softly in her head with that thought, but she knew if she wanted a chance, that she would have to cooperate.

"Well," Mara began, "all I know is that I wasn't supposed to fly for this battle, but Vader told me to-" Mara suddenly stopped. When she had mentioned Vader, she had sensed a reaction from Skywalker.

"Go on," Organa encouraged her.

Mara continued on.

"But Vader told me to do it but he didn't give me a reason why he needed more pilots." _There, _Mara thought smugly, _I didn't even have to lie. _

"Wait," Skywalker suddenly spoke up. "Are you saying that _Vader_ was on the Death Star when it blew?"

"Well, I don't know." Mara didn't want to tell them that she did know: that Vader would have left before it had exploded. _If the rebels didn't know that Vader was still alive, that could be a great asset to us. _

Mothma and Organa exchanged glances with each other, thinking that they had just obtained a valuable piece of information.

"Is that all you know?" Mothma asked.

"Yes, I can't think of anything else," Mara lied.

Organa and Mothma stood.

"Thank you so much for cooperating," Organa told her kindly. "Unfortunately, We can't let you go, at least not for a while. There are things that you know about us that we can't let you take back to the Empire." Organa smiled, as if the next thing she would say would be good news. "But we can give you some better quarters."

Mara had known that they would tell her this, but it didn't matter. Because she also knew that she would find a way to steal a ship and get off this jungle planet.

Organa spoke again.

"Oh, one more thing. Before I take you to your new quarters, I'll have to take your weapons." Organa smiled again. "For security reasons. You understand?"

Mara nodded, not caring if they took her weapons that they saw.

"Alright." Mara shrugged. She pulled her blaster pistol that had earlier been polished and handed it over to Organa. _There you go. You would never even realize that I have two vibro-blades, a holdout blaster, two small grenades, and my lightsaber still. That doesn't even include other survival supplies hidden somewhere. _

---

Luke had a funny feeling when he watched Arica hand her blaster to Leia.

_She sure was agreeable to that. _It almost seemed as if it didn't matter to her. Like she would do just fine without the blaster… _She's just a TIE fighter pilot; she's not going to have loads of weapons hidden on her person. Or would she? _

Luke leaned forward and whispered in Leia's ear.

"Are you sure she wouldn't have any other weapons hidden?"

"She's just a TIE fighter pilot, Luke."

"Never hurt to try."

Leia nodded to Luke and then turned back to Arica.

"Arica, just to make sure, could we check you for other weapons?"

---

Mara watched Organa and Skywalker whisper something to each other, and then Leia turned back to her.

"Arica, just to make sure, could we check you for other weapons?"

_Oh, great… _Mara realized with distain that this could be the end of her secrets.

_Why that suspicious Skywalker! He told something to Organa! _

Mara just shrugged and raised her hands; allowing them to check her.

_If Solo even comes near me to check me…_

But Solo didn't check her, instead, Organa reached forward with a metal detector. She ran it along Mara's right arm, nothing happened. Organa ran it along her left arm, and a beeping sound came from the detector. When Organa lifted Mara's sleeve and found a small holdout blaster. Mara shrugged.

_I could use the Force to deflect attention from my weapons, but then Skywalker would probably sense it. _

She glanced at Skywalker's lightsaber hanging at his belt.

_I don't know if he's a fully trained Jedi or not. But I can't take the chance. If he is, then he'll know that I'm Force sensitive and they'll know I'm hiding something; something more than weapons. _

Organa took the holdout blaster and handed it to the Solo, who was holding Mara's other blaster. Organa continued running the metal detector along Mara's left leg, nothing happened. She ran it along Mara's right leg, nothing happened. Solo stepped forward and spoke to Organa and a silent alarm went off inside Mara's head.

"Princess, check her shoes."

Organa looked at him strangely, but he just replied,

"Just do it."

Organa shrugged and lowered the detector to Mara's feet. Sure enough, the metal detector started beeping. Mara glared at Solo and Organa looked at him in astonishment.

"Han, how did you…"

"Popular hiding place, Princess." Solo smirked at both the glaring Mara and the astonished Organa.

Organa gestured for Mara to remove the weapons by her feet. Mara frowned but reached downward and pulled out a vibro-blade from each boot. She handed them to Organa who in turn handed them to Solo. Organa sighed and looked back to Mara.

"Is that all?"

Mara didn't reply, just stared back.

"Please, Arica," Mothma spoke. "If you have any more weapons, hand them to us. Please cooperate."

Mara sighed and reached down to her hip and pulled out a small grenade.

"Is that all?" Organa asked wearily.

Mara shrugged once more, not wanting to give herself away.

_I can't let them find it. It's my most important weapon. _

Organa sighed again, picked up the detector, and quickly ran it in front of all of Mara's body. Beeping rang everywhere. The four rebels in front of her all looked at each other. Finally Skywalker spoke.

"Please, Arica. Just give us all your weapons."

Mara glared at him, sighed, then began pulling out all sorts of weapons. She undid her utility belt and pulled a rope form behind it. She then reached behind her and pulled out another grenade. Mara threw her hands up in the air and then dropped them down. Organa wearily ran her detector all over Mara's body.

Silence, silence, silence…

Then, when the detector passed over Mara's chest, it beeped. The rebels looked at each other again. Organa spoke tentatively this time.

"Is that –" Organa gestured to her bosom. "- A weapon?"

Mara smirked. She felt like giving these rebels a hard time.

"It depends on how you look at it." Mara saw Skywalker's face redden.

_I was right; he was probably once a farm boy or something. _

She saw Solo's eyes widen, and Mothma have looks of scorn. Organa almost had a… jealous look. Mara smirked again. It was working.

_They're so unnerved, they'll completely forget about getting my lightsaber. I knew this was a good place to hide it. _

"Um," Organa finally spoke. "So, if you say it's a weapon, then I think you need to give it to me."

Mara's eyes widen in incredulously. But not for the reason they were thinking.

_It's not going to work! Stang! _

"Come on," Organa urged. Mara glared at Leia with undisguised scorn, but did as she was told. Mara reached into her jumpsuit, and saw Skywalker's crimson face turn away. Mara reached further, and found the extra space in her jumpsuit from the inside out. She unclasped the clip, and pulled her lightsaber out. The others in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Mara looked to see Skywalker's deep crimson face turn deadly white at the sight of the lightsaber.

"How can you own one of those?" Skywalker asked, not even able to say it's name.

"Ur, I found it," Mara told them, then remembered something. Just a day ago, she had heard that an old rogue Jedi had dueled Vader and lost. _I could say that I found that Jedi's lightsaber. That way they still won't know the truth. _With that thought, Mara told them:

"I found it on the Death Star, I have no clue as to whose it was."

Skywalker nodded. Then, it hit him. His eyes widened and he asked,

"Wha – what color is it?"

Mara shrugged.

"Blue, I think." In reality, Mara's lightsaber was actually a light violet.

Skywalker's face became even whiter.

"That's Ben's…" Luke muttered, so no one heard him. Of course, Mara had a pretty good idea of what he said.

Mothma spoke up.

"You can keep your artifact. Unfortunately, hardly anyone any more can use them." Mothma's voice held a sad tone to it.

Mara sighed in relief that she would be able to keep her lightsaber and turned to Solo, who stepped forward and told Mara,

"You've got a lot of weapons for a simple TIE fighter pilot."

"I've been told to always be prepared," Mara retorted.

Solo didn't reply; merely watched her warily with his arms crossed over his chest.

"So," Organa asked, almost afraid of the reply, "Is that it?"

Han reached forward and waved the detector over Mara. Silence.

"Ok," Organa looked at Skywalker. "Can you take her to some more comfortable quarters, and give her some guidelines and such?"

"Sure," Skywalker agreed in reply.

Mothma, Organa, and Solo walked out of the small room and Skywalker followed them to talk to them for a second.

---

"Leia," Luke called to her as he followed them outside the makeshift cell.

She turned her head back to him.

"Yes?"

"Do I need to cover her eyes again when I take her out here? Or since she's staying here for a while can we just let her see?"

Leia turned to Mon, unsure of what to do.

"I think that it would be ok if she can see. If she ever does leave, we won't even be at this base any more. We're looking for a new base as we speak." Mon told Leia and the other two.

"Oh, one more thing, Luke. And you too, Han." Leia said. "tomorrow at 1100 we have a ceremony. You two and Chewie will be rewarded."

Luke and Han looked at each other, both obviously surprised and pleased.

Luke shrugged. "Ok, I'll be there. Oh, one more question, Leia. Are we letting our 'guest' go anywhere? Or are we just letting her stay in her quarters?"

Leia answered this time.

"I think that she can be taken places, but she shouldn't be allowed to go wherever she pleases and whenever she wants."

Luke nodded and watched the three walk away. Before Leia, Mon, and Han were out of sight, Han called back to Luke,

"Hey kid, don't do anything foolish. She's a tricky one." With that, Han winked. Luke watched them disappear from sight, and then walked back into the cell.

"Ready?" Luke asked once he was in the cell.

"Not like I have anything to pack," came the reply.

_Bantha crap! She's right, what is she going to wear? _Luke wondered. _Hmm, I'll have to ask Leia about that. _

Luke and Arica walked together in silence for a couple of minutes, but soon, Luke spoke up.

"Arica, may I ask you a question?"

"Only if I can ask you one."

"Alright. How old are you?"

Arica turned sharply to Luke, clearly not expecting that question.

"Seventeen," she admitted.

_She's two years younger than me! Han was right; she must be a pretty good pilot. _

"My turn," Arica's voice broke through Luke's thoughts. "How long have you been in the Rebellion?"

Luke hesitated for a moment. Was that valuable information he would be giving out? _Nah, I've only been with them for a day. _

"A day."

---

_Stang! Did he just say _aday? _He must either be a Jedi that just decided to join; maybe just finished his training. Or he's not even a Jedi and he's fresh off the farm. Of course, if that were true, then why would he have a lightsaber? _

Mara pondered on this the rest of the way to her new quarters.

When they were there, Skywalker left her by herself after politely telling her that right now she wasn't allowed outside her quarters alone.

Just a second after Skywalker had left, his head popped in again.

"Arica, Leia is going to bring you some new clothes shortly," Skywalker continued. "She, uh, figured that you were around her size."

Mara nodded and Skywalker's head disappeared behind the door. Shortly after, Mara heard a soft click and she knew that she had just been locked in.   
She looked around the room in interest. It was not a large room, but it was certainly better than the makeshift cell. There was a bed in the left corner, along with a small dresser next to it. Across the room from the bed, there was a straight back chair in front of a small desk. In the right corner, there was a door ajar that led to a 'fresher. She walked into the 'fresher to find it equally small like most of the furniture in the room. But, the 'fresher had everything she needed, so the only things that were needed would be extra clothes, but that was already being handled. The other thing was something to do. That was not being taken care of. Boredom was something Mara could deal with, though.

Just then, a powerful presence seemed to whisper in her ear.

_MARA. _

Mara whirled around but already knew no one was there.

_MARA. _

Suddenly, with a slight dread in her stomach, Mara knew exactly whom the voice belonged to.

_MARA! _

"Yes, my master."

_YOU HAVE NOT RETURNED. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? _

"I'm sorry, my master. After Lord Vader told me your orders, and I carried them out, and the Death Star exploded, the rebels _escorted _me to their base on Yavin IV." Mara took a deep breath, and then hurried to blurt out her excuse. "My master, TIE fighters have no hyperdrives, and I had already thought of a plan to go down to Yavin IV any way, and I didn't want to give my real identity away, so I cooperated."

_IT'S FINE, MY HAND. YOU ARE IN NO TROUBLE. YOU HAVE ACTED WELL, AS EXPECTED FROM AN EMPEROR'S HAND. BUT I WISH FOR YOU TO RETURN SOON. I AM IN NEED OF YOU IN OTHER PLACES. YOU MUST ACT CAREFUL, SO NOT TO RISE SUSPICION, BUT I DO NOT WANT YOU GETTING CLOSE TO THE REBELS. ONLY CLOSE ENOUGH TO MAYBE GRASP A BIT OF VALUABLE INFORMATION, AND LEAVE. _

Mara nodded in obedient reply, grateful that her master had understood.

_NOW, SINCE I AM IN DIRE NEED OF YOU, BUT I REALIZE THAT YOUR SITUATION IS A SENSITIVE ONE; I WILL GIVE YOU SOME EXTRA TIME TO ESCAPE. CHOOSE WISELY, AND RETURN TO ME SOON. FAREWELL, MY HAND. _

"I will do as I am told, my master." And with that, the overwhelming presence in her mind disappeared. Mara knew what would happen as soon as his presence would completely vanish, and began to brace herself for the headache to come.

Just as the headache came blasting into Mara's mind that felt like she had just butted heads with an Imperial Star Destroyer, a knock on the door was heard.

"Arica, it's me, Leia. I have some clothes for you. May I come in?"

Mara pressed her palms to her forehead and replied,

"Yes, come on in."

Organa opened the door and walked in with a stack of folded clothes.

"I figured you were around my size, so I took the liberty of bringing some of my clothes to you, since you have nothing else besides that flight suit. Luke told you, right?"

Mara nodded her gratification and took the pile of clothes from Leia's outstretched arms.

"Thanks. I'll see if they fit."

Mara left the room for a moment and walked into the 'fresher. She came back out in just a couple of minutes.

"They all fit, thanks again." Mara hesitated. She wasn't sure if what she was about to say was considered rude or not in Organa's book, but she took the chance any way. "Leia," Mara used her first name for the first time. "By any chance, do you wear any other color besides white? I mean, it's no problem, but I was just curious," Mara hastened to add the last part.

Leia smiled, then replied,

"It's just an Alderaan tradition. So, yeah, I think I might have something that might not be white in my wardrobe. But, being here, I don't have _nearly _as much selection in my wardrobe as I did back on Alderaan." After Leia said that, Mara could sense a wave of sadness nearly overcome the woman.

_Oh, right, _Mara thought. _Her planet just got blown up. _

"Oh, well, white's fine." Mara said. "Just got to make sure I don't spill!"

Mara was surprised at herself. She had just made a joke with a _rebel. _

'_DON'T GET TOO CLOSE TO THE REBELS.' _

Palatine's words rang through her mind, making Mara remember her headache. _But, _Mara thought, _a joke is probably harmless. It's not like we're becoming best friends or anything. And besides, I think my joke worked. _Mara saw Leia smile and Mara sensed that her sadness was currently forgotten.

"Oh," Mara said. "I don't think I'll need these nicer clothes. Just a few jumpsuits are fine. Thanks again for the clothes."

Leia smiled again and replied,

"Your very welcome. It was the least I could do. Since you aren't going to use these," Leia gestured to the more formal clothes that Mara had just handed her. "Don't you think you might need at least one more jumpsuit?"

Mara really didn't think she would be wearing Leia's clothes that often. Mara had not had time to change out of her own figure fitting jump suit when she had left the Death Star and had thrown on a flight suit.

"Oh, no. I'm fine. I've got my own jumpsuit underneath this."

"Alright." Leia thought for a moment, then added, "I don't know if Luke forgot to mention this or not to you, but tomorrow we're having a ceremony. Would you like to come?"

"Uh," Mara thought about it for a bit. Anything was better than just staying in her room, and she wouldn't be getting too close to the rebels. She might even gain some information about them. _Like what world they're going to next. _

"Yeah, I'll go. Might be a bit of fun," Mara told Leia.

"Alright, well, Luke or I will come over here to get you in the morning. See you tomorrow, Arica."

Mara nodded and smiled, and watched Leia leave the room.

Leia peeked her head back through the door. "Arica? It was nice getting to know you better."

"You too."

With that, Leia left the room.

_Nice getting to know you better? I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I have to manipulate them to where I get the high end of the friendships each time. I can't get close to them, yet I need to gain information. And fast. _

While Mara contemplated on that, a thought occurred to her. Mara had forgotten to tell her master that the rebels thought that Vader was dead. But Mara decided to contact him later. She could feel her headache start to calm down a bit, and she did not want to get another one so soon.

--

**Please review! **

**Thanks, **

**Mara E. Jade**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I realize that this chapter is very short, and I'll give you a reason for that right now (well, more like an excuse). This chapter is more of a filler-in chapter. A bridge, per say. Any ways, I promise to post the next one up soon! **

**Thanks Porcelainheart94! **

**Disclaimer: Bleh, after writing these boring old things all the time, I'm just going to be lazy: See chapter one. **

**Chapter Four**

The ceremony had gone by smoothly. The three heroes received their medals in grand splendor. Mara did go to the ceremony, as planned.

The days following the ceremony turned into weeks. And Mara found herself beginning to realize that there was no way to escape the rebels.

_These vaping rebels are pretty smart, _Mara thought. Unfortunately, that meant a not too happy master for her. Mara knew that she had to contact him sometime sooner or later, _preferably later than sooner_, but she knew that he wouldn't be too angry; he would only get angry the later she waited. So, Mara took a deep, calming breath and opened herself up to all that she knew of called the Force. For a moment, she sat in her room, silent, with her eyes closed. Finally, Mara found that section of her mind that she would need. She gathered her courage and opened herself to her master's presence a million light years away.

"Master", Mara sent to the man known as the Emperor.

Mara instantly felt a strong presence approach her mind. Mara was used to the feeling; as if a strong wind rushed into her mind and took over.

_MARA. YOU HAVE BEEN GONE FOR SO LONG. WHERE ARE YOU? _

"I'm sorry, Master. I can explain. For weeks I have searched and watched for the opportune moment and place to escape. But I haven't found it! There is virtually no way of escaping stealthily. Would it be better if I just leave forcefully?'"

_YOU SAY YOU CAN'T FIND A TIME OR PLACE AT ALL TO LEAVE, ARE THEY GUARDING YOU EXCESSIVELY? _

"Yes, Master, they are."

Mara did not hear a reply for a moment, and she knew that her master was thinking.

Finally, he spoke. Well, _thought. _

_MARA, DO NOT LEAVE YET, FORCEFULLY OR WITH STEALTH. YOUR NEXT MISSION IS TO GAIN AS MUCH KNOWLEDGE AS POSSIBLE ABOUT THEM, GAIN THEIR TRUST. I WANT YOU TO GET CLOSER TO THEM, LIKE I TOLD YOU BEFORE. BUT YOU MUST BEWARE. DO NOT LET THEM INFLUENCE YOU! GOOD BYE, MY HAND. ONE MORE THING, KEEP THE INFORMATION YOU LEARN SAVED ON SOMETHING; SO THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO REPORT TO ME IN DETAIL AFTER THIS LONG MISSION. _

Mara bowed to the air, knowing he would see it.

_GOOD BYE, MY HAND… _

Mara felt his presence slowly leave her mind. Slipping into an eternity.

Mara called to it frantically, wishing to ask her master something.

"Master!" Mara tried, there was no reply at first. "Master!" Mara tried with more force this time, and he replied.

_YES, JADE. _

"Master, how long do you wish for me to stay here with the rebels?"

_UNTIL I TELL YOU TO COME BACK, _Mara's master answered evasively.

"I will do as I am told." Mara bowed once again to the air, and felt the Emperor's powerful, demanding presence leave again.

As Mara braced herself mentally for the killer headache to come like usual, Mara remembered something.

_I forgot to tell him that the rebels think that Vader is dead. _ But Mara knew that it was useless to tell him now, because the rebels had most likely heard news from their many spies throughout the Galaxy that Vader was still very much alive.

_Well, if they did know that, it certainly wouldn't help me gain their trust. _

Mara shrugged mentally, and lay down on her bed to sleep out the headache crashing against her skull full throttle.

--

**Review? Please?? **

**A/N: Updates will probably be more infrequent now, because this chapter was the last one that I had prewritten. But be patient, I've already been working on the fifth chapter. : ) **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This chapter is where things start going in a different direction; like the timing of leaving previous bases, getting Hoth ect… **

**Just so none of you freak out, I'm going to mention it here. I'm going to be changing my username to JadedSkywalker. I'm not doing this just for change; I'm doing this because I'm JadedSkywalker literally everywhere besides here! I'll also be mentioning this on my profile. : D Thanks for understanding! **

**Disc: See chapter one. **

_**Bravo, Porcelainheat94! **_

**Chapter Five **

_Two years later _

_Rebel base on Thila_

Two years had passed since the battle of Yavin, and Mara was still stuck with the rebels. She was still constantly learning secrets and facts about them for her master. Mara's true identity was still a secret to all the rebels, but to them, 'Arica' was more of a fellow rebel than a prisoner now. Mara was not locked away and kept on constant surveillance any more. Although Mara made sure she obeyed her master and didn't get too comfortable with them, it was getting hard to keep her priorities straight. She found herself thinking she was one of them sometimes. But those thoughts were chased away with her loyalty to her master. Mara had done a few simple missions with them, and to all the other rebels - mainly Luke, Leia and Han - Arica was an Imperial pilot turned prisoner turned fellow rebel. But to Mara, it was not nearly so simple. Every day that passed, Mara found it harder and harder to keep her secrets. 

"Arica? You alright?" 

"Hmm?" Mara shook herself from her thoughts and looked up. Luke looked at her with undisguised concern. That was another thing. Luke. She had been partially right about his background. Luke had told her once that he was in fact from Tatooine, and had helped his uncle on a moisture farm. Deliberately trying to be innocent yet curious, she had asked him about his lightsaber. 

"_So how did you get one of those?" _Mara recalled the memory of about a year and a half ago. _Luke's words fumbled; clearly he was not expecting the question. "I - it was given to me." Mara knew that he was telling the truth, she could clearly see that with the Force, but she also knew that he wouldn't lie to her; she was slowly becoming one of them in his eyes. _

"_I'm not an expert," Mara began, lying again. "But aren't those supposed to be a Jedi's weapon?" _

"_Well, yeah," Mara could again see that Luke was struggling to tell her all the truth. _

"_It was given to me by my mentor; he was teaching me to become a Jedi." A small gasp escaped Mara's soft lips, but she quickly regained control. A Jedi? She thought. This was something she needed to take to her master. _

"_But I thought they were all extinct?" Mara silently prodded Luke for more information. _

"_Oh, well they were, almost. I think my master was the last one." Mara let this new information sink in. "Really?" Mara asked, she needed to know the name of this Jedi Luke was talking about, fast. _

"_So, I think I might have heard of him," Although somehow she didn't feel right about doing this, she turned on her charm, any ways. It was for a good cause. "What was his name?" She asked, smiling slightly. _

_Again, Luke obviously had not been expecting the question. "Ben. His name was Ben." _

_Mara frowned mentally. Even though she could sense do deceit from him, she felt as if he wasn't quite telling the complete truth. _

"_Oh," Mara sank back, defeated for the moment. "Maybe I didn't hear of him." _Since then, Luke had begun self-training himself. Even though he had no help, from Mara's point of view, he was doing a great job. But that was the problem. She had begun to subtly discourage Luke from training and such, but he was determined; and Mara knew that if she didn't want Luke to catch on, then she wouldn't be able to stop him. Her subtle discouragements hadn't worked. Meanwhile, Luke over the past year especially, Luke had become more and more powerful. It worried Mara greatly. 

"Oh, I was just thinking," Mara told him. In truth, she was. _ But not about things that I should be, _a voice in her mind told her. And she knew it was true. But the truth was hard to make out for Mara these days; she was losing sight of her goal. Her master had not contacted her in over two years, and Mara wondered several things. _I would have felt his death. But why hasn't he contacted me? Who is doing my job while I'm gone? He couldn't seriously have hired bounty hunters – they're scum; a last resort. _

_But maybe he was at a last resort,_that voice spoke again. _Maybe he forgot you. _

_He wouldn't have forgotten me! I'm his Hand. _The_Emperor's Hand. _But Mara knew that she was only telling herself this; and that these thoughts were extremely dangerous. 

Mara saw Luke finally look away, but she noticed that he was not entirely convinced. Just then, Leia came by and sat down, with Han was close behind. All four of them were eating lunch together. 

_When did I stop eating in my room as a prisoner and started eating with them? _Mara mused. 

"Han, Luke," The two looked up to Leia talking. "Reeikan wants you two to go on a scouting mission."

Han looked up from his plate and spoke around his mouth full of food. "What for?" 

"A scouting mission, Han. You didn't think we were going to stay at this base for very long, did you?" 

"What's the matter with this base here on Thila?" Luke asked. 

"Well nothing, but we've heard word that the Empire is catching on. So Reeikan and Mothma want you two to go with some of the Rouges, maybe, and go scout out a new planet worthy of a base." 

"Sounds fun," Han added a bit of sarcasm. 

Leia ignored Han's tone and added, "You'll leave sometime tomorrow." 

"Tomorrow?" Luke asked, surprised. "Isn't that a bit rushed?" 

"Skywalker, didn't you listen?" Mara spoke up. _"We're_ a bit rushed. If the Empire is coming, then you've gotta go find us another spot." 

Luke smiled inwardly. It felt so good to hear Arica say words like _we_and _us._Luke really felt like Arica was one of them. She was fully accepted, and a lot of times Luke forgot where exactly she had come from. But Luke just wished that Arica felt that way, too. He knew she didn't feel like a prisoner any more, or like a stranger in a crowd, but he also could see glimpses of her struggling for reasons unknown to him. 

"So how long do we have to find this new base?" Han asked. 

"A couple of weeks, I think," Leia informed her friends. 

Luke sighed and stood up. "Well then I guess we should be packing up, right Han?" 

Han looked up at his friend, stood also, and the two waved goodbye. "We'll tell you when we leave tomorrow morning," Han called as he and Luke walked away. 

Leia faced Mara. "So, Arica, would you care to help me with something?" 

"Thanks, but I've got to help some pilots with their manuevers," Mara replied. "Speaking of which, I've gotta go start that now. See you later, Leia." 

Leia waved bye, and also got up to start her own task.

Vader paced back and forth on the bridge of his flagship, the _Executor._Two years had passed since the destruction of the Death Star, and Vader had learned many things. One of those things occupied his mind every waking minute. 

He had a son. 

But his son was not just anybody; his son was a hero of the Rebellion. Other wise, Vader would have never figured out that he was a father. But how had Vader learned this new and valuable piece of information? Ever curious, Vader had looked into the apparent Force Sensitive who had blown up the Death Star. After finding out the young pilot's name, he learned everything he could about his son. Even now, Vader was starting a new mission to find the Rebellion, and more importantly, his son. 

"Lord Vader, the probe droids have been dispatched." 

Vader turned around to face one of his officers. 

"Good," He replied with his usually coldness. "Alert me when you receive any news from them."

With that, Vader stalked out of the room, cape billowing behind him. 

--

**A/N: Before you all come after me with pitchforks about skipping two years, let me explain. There really wasn't that much that would be going on in those two years, and so I decided it would be better to just summarize what had happened at the beginning of this chapter. Any ways, the next chapter should be coming soon… Please review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Four months. Two weeks. Oh, Force. That isn't the time until my birthday, that's how long it's been since I've updated!! I really am so sorry. I don't THINK that I'll wait that long to update again, but I can't promise anything, unfortunately. But I have a good excuse! : P I can actually update faster during the school year, because everything goes smoother. During April, May, June and July, my life is EXTREMELY hectic. Any ways, I hope this chapter makes up for it.**

**Disc: See chapter one.**

**Chapter Six**

_Above Thila_

Mara pulled her X-wing out of a tight roll, and flipped her front around to face the newer pilots. For the past two weeks, she had been teaching the slightly new pilots some simple maneuvers.

'_Arica,' _Leia's voice came through from Mara's comlink._ 'Luke, Han and the rest of the Rouges are back; do you want to meet them with me?'_

"Sure," Mara replied, "I'll be right there."

Mara called a sequence to the other pilots. "Ok, that's enough for today. Good job, all of you."

With that, Mara flew her X-wing down to the surface of Thila, where the Rebels were still based.

When Mara landed, she pulled off her helmet and absently pushed some strands of red hair behind her ear. As she did this, a thought that was very unexpected popped in her mind.

_Oh, stang! I won't have time to take a shower or anything before I see Luke!_ Mara froze for a minute, nearly horrified at the thought that had run through her head. _Where the kriff did THAT thought come from? I'm just welcoming Luke back… Oh, and Han, too._

Mara shook her head, hoping to release the strange thoughts from her head. With that, she left the hanger and headed to welcome back Luke, Han and the Rouges.

_Rebel Base on Thila_

Mara walked over to Leia, who was standing outside the Rebel Base, watching as the Millennium Falcon and several X-wings landed. Soon, the two men exited the light freighter and the Rouges their X-wings. Mara watched as the group walked over, suddenly feeling self conscious in her sweaty flight suit, with her helmet in her hand.

_Oh Force; here come those thoughts again_… Mara thought with a foreboding feeling.

_And it really doesn't help much that he_- Mara heard the unwanted and yet ever present voice inside her head speak, but before it could finish, she fiercely interrupted it.

_Shut up!_

_You're just mad because you know it's true. Come on, Honey, you can't avoid it forever._

Mara felt her frustration rising and a blush creep over her face; silently she wished that she could Force choke the annoying voice. _Unfortunately I'd just be killing myself, wouldn't I? _Mara chuckled softly at the prospect. She could see it now: _"Emperor's Hand killed by Force choking herself."_

--

As Luke and Han stepped out of the Millennium Falcon, Luke smiled as he spotted Arica and Leia waiting for them. The two smiled back. The sunlight across the docking station shone on Arica's fiery hair, and lighted up her smile, making Luke realize how much he missed her.

Luke mentally shook these thoughts and feelings away, not sure what they were, and not wanting to deal with them at the moment.

Curious enough, he also sensed a strange emotion emanating from Arica.

Lately, Luke had been able to sense others emotions much more. For the past couple of years, Luke had been trying to teach himself since Ben was not around any more. Even though Luke could see that he had improved greatly, especially for having no teacher, Luke knew that he had a long way to go. _If only there was another Jedi to teach me_. That thought had crossed his mind many times before, and each time it did, only a sense of hopelessness washed over him.

Luke shook the depressing thoughts away and focused on meeting his friends after two weeks. But another thing besides his training that kept on persisting him in his mind was Arica and Leia's presence in the Force. Both of their presence was so much stronger than that of any other one's nearby. They both almost seemed... connected to Luke, but in different ways. Luke couldn't explain it, and he often wondered if perhaps they had the ability to become Jedi.

Another thing that seemed strangely linked with Arica's Force presence was the fact that Arica had owned a large amount of weapons hidden on her person the day they had met. Luke didn't know why it seemed connected, it just did. _It's almost as if the Force is trying to tell me something… _Luke had racked his brain a million times over, but he never could think of a reason why those two things connected.

Luke turned his mind back to the present, and noticed that Arica had a flight suit on. _Must've been helping some pilots or something_, Luke mused.

"Welcome back!" Luke heard the two women greeting Han and himself warmly.

"Did ya miss me, Princess?" Han asked Leia with a teasing tone.

Leia rolled her eyes. "Come on inside and tell us all about how the trip went," Leia focused her question on Luke, trying to ignore Han for the moment. As the four began to walk inside, Leia asked, "So, did you find any suitable planets?"

--

"We think that this one is the best choice of all the ones we looked at," Han told Rieekan, Mothma, and other Rebel Leaders. Leia and Arica also listened quietly, while Luke added his own opinion and such to the scouting trip report.

"And what planet would that be?" Mothma inquired.

"Hoth," Luke spoke up. "It's in the Anoat Sector, a rarely-traveled portion of the Outer Rim Territories."

Mothma sat back, apparently thinking the new information over. Finally, Rieekan spoke up.

"What is your opinion of this, Princess?"

Eyes turned to Leia, and she pondered for a moment before speaking. "I think that we should definitely look into this planet, Hoth. What type of climate does it usually have, from what you could tell?"

Han spoke up this time.

"We flew into the atmosphere, and the whole planet appeared to be covered in ice and snow." He added, "I think it's like that all year round."

After a murmur of agreements floated through the room, Rieekan told them, "Let's plan on heading to Hoth, it appears to be the most suitable planet - besides it's seemingly nasty weather."

Mothma nodded in agreement. "If we start packing up tomorrow morning, we should be leaving in just a few days."

--

"So," Han said, as the four left the room. "No time to even relax after this mission."

"If you wanted time to relax, then you shouldn't have joined up with the Rebellion," Leia replied.

Luke and Mara exchanged glances, knowing that the two were going to start bantering. Again.

"Well maybe I only joined up here because I wanted to be with you, _sweetheart_," Han retorted.

Leia opened her mouth to let out a retort, but shut it again, and continued to walk in silence. Han, on the other hand, continued to saunter with his smug grin.

"I bet you that Leia will eventually win this one," Mara told Luke once the other two were arguing again.

"Are you kidding? Han always has the last laugh!" Luke argued.

"Han doesn't always win, he just never appears to lose." Mara smiled and walked off, leaving Luke to figure out what she had just said.

_Darth Vader's Meditation Chamber in The Executor_

_Padmé…_

_My Padmé…_

_My Angel…_

Darth Vader woke up with a jolt, realizing once again that he had been unconsciously thinking about _her_ again.

A few weeks ago, after Vader had realized he had a son, he had realized another thing:

He had not killed his precious angel.

Padmé had not died on Mustafar.

The thought that his master had lied to him for over twenty years - it infuriated Vader, but also caused other questions to rise in his mind.

If Padmé had not died at Mustafar, could she possibly still be alive? Would his son know?

Vader had figured that he would not know, because he had been raised with his aunt and uncle. But the question of his Angel possibly living raised hope in Vader - hope that he could not afford to feel.

So Vader pushed that hope away, away in the place of his mind where other complicated thoughts went.

Vader put his scarred head in his gloved hands, and blinked back the tears that he had not felt for many years.

--

**A/N: If you all found it in your hearts to forgive me… I really like reviews! :P **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: It's been over a half a year... And here I am FINALLY with chapter seven! I have chapters completely done all the way up to chapter eleven, and I'll post each one every other day or so. **

**Thanks so much for your patience!**

**Chapter Seven**

As everyone expected, the packing up and moving out went very quickly, and by the next evening, the Rebellion was on its way to a new base_._ Mara and Luke were riding in their separate X-Wings. The _Falcon's _crew_, _on the other hand, consisted of Chewie, Han, Leia and C-3PO. Mara could not help but smirk as she thought of the trip's events on the _Falcon. _

With the hyperspace trip taking a few days, Mara wished she had more meditation training. As she tried to move around in her cramped cockpit, a very slight voice in her mind began to speak, or at least, make noises. She could not tell what the voice was trying to say, but she could tell it was not the Emperor. His signature was far more demanding, abrasive and stronger. But there was something about this small voice, she knew_ whom_ it was coming from – she did not know how she knew – she just did. The small signature seemed familiar, and did not seem weak in itself, it was just the connection between Mara and this person. For a half second, Mara faintly wondered if it was Luke.

_No, it couldn't be…_

Luke sat perfectly still in his X-Wing, concentrating, until perspiration began to collect on his forehead.

'_Arica…' _

Luke pushed harder, trying to _make_ his 'message' get through to her.

With not much to do in an X-Wing for two days – besides meditation – Luke decided he wanted to try to communicate with Arica through the Force, since he was almost positive she was Force sensitive. Luke doubted she and the connection between them were strong enough to communicate yet, and stopped for the time being.

_I'll try later on… Maybe after I can persuade her to train with me. _

After this consoling thought, Luke fell into a light sleep.

After pushing away the fleeting thought of it being Luke, Mara noticed the voice was gone. She was slightly relieved at that, because it scared the young woman a bit to think that someone else besides her master had the power to get into her mind, even though she would never admit it.

"How much longer do we have until we reach Hoth?" Leia asked as she entered the cockpit.

"Why?" Han swiveled around in his chair. "Getting cabin fever?"

"Well, after spending two days in here, one would think so." Leia leaned against Chewie's modified chair and stared out at the stars.

Han turned his head up a bit and looked at the princess for a moment. "Having a reflective moment?" He asked in a softer voice.

Leia turned her head to face him. "Just thinking of my – why would you care?" Her voice changed into the usual coldness directed towards Han.

Han threw his hands up in the air, "Well why wouldn't I, sweetheart?" A bit of sarcasm crept into his voice.

Leia did not reply, and instead left the cockpit.

Chewie, after hearing the commotion, walked in and sat down. He cocked his head in an inquisitive gesture.

"She's insufferable!" Han sighed in frustration.

Chewie merely rolled his eyes in amusement.

As Mara's X-Wing dropped out of hyperspace, she suddenly woke up and jolted forward in the small cockpit. Mara slowly rubbed her eyes, then, fully realizing that she, in fact was in real space, quickly placed her hands on the controls. The sky was quickly filled with all sorts of ships as the rest of the rebellion dropped out of hyperspace. Mara saw the _Millennium Falcon _and Luke's X-Wing. A formation was soon made, and the ships all flew down to Hoth.

Before Mara got out of her X-Wing, she quickly pulled out a small datapad she had been keeping information on for her master. Mara quickly updated their status to Hoth, then, upon seeing Luke walk up to her X-Wing, she hurriedly put it away. Hoping he had not seen it, Mara got out of her X-Wing, slightly flustered. One thing went through her mind as she stepped out:

_Stang it's cold out here!_

As the thought went through her head, she smiled tightly and spoke, "How was your flight?"

"It went pretty good, mostly consisted of meditation – very exciting." Luke's voice held a hint of sarcasm. "And you?" Luke asked her, shivering slightly.

"Eh, I don't do that meditation stuff, so I just tried to sleep most of the time." After Mara said this, she could see a weird look cross Luke's face. As he opened his mouth to speak, she had a foreboding feeling.

"Well you know, I think you have – "

Mara suddenly felt the urge to interrupt, and saw the perfect opportunity to do so.

"Hey, Han and Leia just landed, let's go see if they both survived the trip," she said, with a twinkle in her eye.

Luke chuckled slightly at Arica's comment, and smiled inwardly at the happiness he could see in her large, green eyes.

_She's just as beautiful as she was the day I first saw her, _Luke thought as he followed Arica over to the _Millennium Falcon. _

Once the passengers of the _Millennium Falcon _saw Luke and Mara coming over to them, Leia and Han immediately met them half way.

"Hey Luke," Han greeted him. "How was the flight?"

"Pretty good, Solo," Arica cut in before Luke could respond. "Thanks for asking."

Han threw her a mock dirty look, and Arica merely smiled in reply.

"Wow, Han," Leia started, then paused, shivering. "You sure picked a winner planet this time."

Han turned to Luke and pointed his finger back at Leia, "see what I had to deal with for the past three days?"

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad…" Luke replied trying to be the mediator.

"Thanks Luke, for being such an optimist." Leia smiled sweetly at him, then turned back to Han with a glare. "But trust me, it was bad."

Luke watched in amusement as Han's face instantly transformed into an innocent look.

"What? I thought you liked how much time we had together!"

Both Arica and Luke turned to Leia, to see her comeback, and saw Leia's mouth drop open.

"Ugh!" Was all Leia had to say, before smacking him across his arm.

"I guess that means she liked it," Han told Luke, then laughed slightly.

Arica headed after Leia, and Luke watched the two young women walk off.

Mara easily caught up with Leia and asked her, "So, Leia, was it really that bad?"

Leia looked at her taller friend and smiled, "honestly, no, it wasn't too bad."

"You just don't want him to know that?"

"Exactly."

-----

Later on, the unpacking was about half way through. As Mara was finishing up with her things, Luke came up beside her.

"Wow, you're almost done here."

"Yep," she replied, "I was taught at a young age to pack efficiently." _I was taught a lot of things at a young age… _Mara thought with a hint of bitterness, as she her mind traveled back to her extremely short childhood.

_Beads of sweat dripped down the young girl's face as she tried hard to concentrate. She held the training lightsaber in her hands tightly, as if it would slip through them. Mara furrowed her brow in frustration as she watched the training droids, and tried to catch the bolts flying at her with her lightsaber. She angled the little purple saber to send them right back at the droids, but the bolts always seemed to go anywhere but back to the droids. As the last bolt came at her, Mara did not catch it in time. Even though the droids' guns were on a low training power, the bolt still stung the small girl's skin, and she yelped in pain. _

_Her master came out of the shadows, where he had been watching her. _

"_Have you been practicing this at all?" _

"_Yes master," she began weakly, "I have been trying – " _

"_That is not enough!" He replied sharply, "You must perfect this if you are to become the Emperor's Hand."_

_Mara looked down, "yes Master." _

_Without another word, the powerful man left the room, leaving Mara alone. _

_Mara held her hurting arm, and pondered sadly. 'How am I ever to please him if I am so weak?' With that thought, the child sat on the ground and cried silently. _

"Arica?" Luke looked at her face in concern.

Mara snapped out of her reverie and looked up at Luke. "Did you come here for something?"

"Um, yeah." Luke was suddenly unsure of how to put what he wanted to say. "I realized something a bit earlier, and I think you might be Force sensitive."

Thoughts began to rush through Mara's head, as she tried to find something to say in reply. _Kriff! _She thought, _how am I supposed to reply to _that?

"Uh," to the chagrin of Mara, she could not think of anything else to say. "I highly doubt that I am, Luke." Mara winced inwardly, not liking where this conversation was going.

"Well, I think you are. And I know there's got to be a way to find out." Mara watched as Luke grew more excited. "And if you _are_, then I can train you, and I'll have someone to practice with!"

Mara looked at Luke in disbelief. She tried not to show it, however, as she would undoubtedly have to explain that to him, also.

"Well even if I was, ur, "sensitive" as you call it," Mara hoped she was playing dumb enough. "What if I didn't want to be trained?"

It was Luke's turn to look in disbelief, for the thought of being sensitive and not wanting to be trained had never occurred to him.

"Well _why_ in the worlds would you not want to?"

Mara, without anything better to say, lost patience. 'Well I don't know, Skywalker!"  
"Maybe you're just afraid, I'm sure you'd get used to – "

Mara's eyes narrowed. _Afraid? _ No one ever called Mara Jade _afraid. _

"I am not afraid." Mara replied simply.

"Ok, well you have nothing to lose!" Without taking no for an answer, Luke hurriedly continued. "I'll research it and see if there's any way you can be tested." As Luke quickly left, he called back, "have fun unpacking!"

Mara glared at Luke's back, infuriated that he had gotten away with that.

_You can't be too surprised, _a voice in Mara's head told her. _You knew he would find out sooner or later. _

_I suppose so, _Mara replied. _But how am I supposed to deal with this? _

The voice did not have an answer for Mara, which she found very inconvenient.

Luke quickly rushed back to his new quarters, excited that he finally had talked to Arica about her being a Force sensitive. Once he got there, he sat down at the computer and searched "Force sensitive". An article from an encyclopedia popped up, and Luke read through it quickly. Luke tried to distinguish from the truth and lies, knowing most of the information would be set to "Imperial Standards". As he read, things called "midi-chlorians" kept on reappearing throughout the article. He searched the word, having no clue what they were, and Luke smiled. He knew he had found what he was looking for.

_Midi-chlorians are intelligent microscopic life forms that live symbiotically inside the cells of all living things. When present in sufficient numbers, they can allow their symbiont to detect the pervasive energy field known as the Force. Midi-chlorian counts are linked to potential in the Force, ranging from normal Human levels of 2,500 per cell to the much higher levels of Sith and Jedi. _

Luke continued to read the article with interest.

…_Midi-chlorian counts were measured through a blood test… _

That was all Luke needed to know. Hoping the medical center had been unpacked already, Luke quickly headed over there.

"What can we do for you, Commander Skywalker?" A young medic asked politely as Luke entered the medic center.

"Can I have a blood test run on myself?" Luke replied.

The medic, slightly taken back at the Commander's unusual request, replied uneasily, "Uh, I guess. Let me get back to you in just a minute." The medic went into the backroom, where, Luke suspected, he was asking his superior what to do.

The young medic came back out shortly, and handed Luke a small object.

"Hold this please."

Luke nodded in reply, and winced only slightly when the medic stuck a needle in his arm, extracting a small amount of blood.

Luke watched in fascination as the medic placed his blood on a panel of the small object. "And I'm guessing you want to see something in the results?" The medic inquired.

"Yes, please."

"Come right over here to this screen, and you can look all you want."

Luke thanked the medic, and examined the screen closely.

Since Luke was almost positive that no medi-chlorian tests were legal any more, he did not know exactly how he would find out how many he had. Then, Luke had an idea. "Could you help me with something?" Luke asked the medic, who had gone back to some work.

The medic walked back over to Luke, and replied, "sure, what is it?"

"Do you know what medi-chlorians are?"

The medic frowned for a moment, then replied, "I don't, but you know, I think I've heard an older medic mention that word before. Let me get her for you."

Luke waited patiently, and soon after an older woman who looked like she could be in her early fifties came into the room with the young medic.

"And how may I help you, Commander?" She asked.

"Have you ever heard of midi-chlorians?" Luke asked in reply.

The older medic paused for a moment, and then spoke. "I was a young medic in training back before the Empire was created, and midi-chlorians were something we learned about. We did not learn about them in detail, but I know enough about them. Why are you interested in them?"

It was Luke's turn to explain. "I found out that a person's midi-chlorian count can measure how much the person is Force sensitive. I was interested to see mine and a friend's count."

"I see," she replied shortly. "Well then, let me see a closer look at your test results."

Luke moved aside for the older woman, and watched her as she examined the screen. After a few minutes of waiting, the medic turned back to Luke. "It took a bit of doing, since no equipment is used to looking for midi-chlorians any more, but I think I have found out how many you have." She pointed to Luke on the screen where is count was numbered, and then left to get back to some more unpacking.

Luke looked at the number of the screen. Luke was not sure if having about 14,000 midi-chlorians was extremely high, low, or average. All he knew was that if Arica had over 2,500 (which Luke had found out was the average human number), then she was at least remotely Force sensitive.

Now all Luke had to do was get Arica to agree to take a blood test…

_Good luck with that. _A cynical voice echoed in Luke's head.

**I hope you all liked it... :) Please, please, please review!! I really love reviews, they encourage me to write the next chapters, which means there might not be another 9 month space between updates if you review. :) **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Aren't you all proud of me for posting another chapter this quickly? :D**

**Chapter Eight**

Mara stared at Luke, not knowing what to do. _Ugh, he went through all that trouble, just to see if I'm Force sensitive? Kriff it! I already know that I'm Force sensitive! Things would be so much more simpler if I could just go back to regular missions… I would miss everyone, though. _Mara grimaced, partially disgusted at herself for getting so close to everyone.

But Luke was still standing there, waiting for her response.

"Luke…" Mara began.

"Come on, Arica!" Luke interrupted, before hearing out what she had to say. "You can just see what the results have to say."

"You didn't even hear what I said!" Mara chuckled slightly.

"Oh," Luke looked rather sheepish. "Sorry. I just figured you would decline, I guess."

"Well I'm certainly not saying yes," Mara hated how he suddenly looked crushed, just by her words.

"You could just see the results, you don't have to do anything else."

She looked away, not liking how his blue eyes bore into her.

"Fine." Mare replied, instantly regretting it. "I'll do it." Luke suddenly brightened up. "But don't think you can persuade me to do anything else!" Mara added, even though she knew it was in vain.

Luke smiled. He knew he could get her to train with him, eventually.

Once in the medical center, Mara and Luke quickly went through the process Luke had not too long ago. As soon as her results were on the screen, Mara reluctantly looked at her midi-chlorian count, even though she knew what the count would be. Long ago, back when Mara was beginning her Force training, she had been tested. Even though she was very young, she had remembered the doctors saying it was around 11,000. Now that Mara looked at the screen, that was exactly what it said.

Luke turned to Mara, "Arica, you're Force sensitive!"

Mara nearly laughed out loud; Luke looked like he was about to jump up and down like a schoolboy.

"Cool it, okay?" Mara almost felt bad for Luke, she really did not want to get his hopes up. "It's not like I'm going to let you train me or anything."

Luke looked at Mara for a second, "I could persuade you."

Mara snorted. "Doubtful." _If I have my mind set on something, no one can persuade me otherwise. _

That annoying voice in Mara's head decided to show up: _Then how come you're in the med center with Luke, looking at your medi-chlorian count? _

_Ok, you have a point there… _

Mara silently called a truce with her mind, and left the med center.

Out in the corridor, Luke caught up with Mara. "I just don't understand why you don't want to train."

Mara, not having any better answer, retorted, "Because I don't!"

"Well that's not a good reason," Luke commented quietly.

"I heard that."

---

Later that day, a group of the Rouges, Han and Luke all sat together in the mess hall.

Even though none of the Rouges were paying attention to Luke's story any more, he still continued on, with Han listening only.

"…I just don't understand why she won't do it, Han. You understand women, why don't you think she wants to?"

Han laughed slightly, "Well I only understand women _sometimes. _ There's a big difference." Han pondered for a moment. "I don't think there's a man in the galaxy who understands a women all the time. But you make it sound like you have serious women problems, Kid! And this training stuff, it's strictly business, right?" Han teased Luke a bit, knowing he always had a slight crush on the Ex-Imperial.

"Of course it is!" Luke replied indignantly. "Do you seriously think I would try to get her to train with me just so I can spend more time with her?"

"Eh, I dunno, Kid."

Luke gave Han a look of slight annoyance.

"And honestly," Han continued. "I really don't know why she wouldn't want to train with you. I mean, she seems the type that would want to enhance her skills all the time, so she probably just has some fear about it or somethin'."

"Well I did mention that," Luke remembered. "But she was very indignant that she was not afraid of anything."

"Of course she was!" Han shook his head, incredulous Luke would think she would say anything otherwise. "Did you think she would actually admit it?"

Wedge Antilles, one of the Rouges, overheard part of the conversation. "You having women problems, eh?" He directed his question at Luke, while elbowing him slightly.

"No!" Luke replied very quickly. "Why do you all think that?"

By now, the rest of the group was interested in the conversation again.

Wes Janson saw an opportunity. "Oh come on, it's so obvious you have a thing for her."

Luke looked at Janson, then back at the rest. "Oh, so now you're all ganging up on me?"

Another Rouge, Derek Klivian (also known as Hobbie) put on a mask of mock innocence. "Commander, we would _never_ gang up on you. We're only trying to help you!"

Luke was not swayed. "Well you can think what you want, but I do not have a thing for her. I was merely trying to help her." With that, Luke got up from the table and left.

_You certain you don't feel anything for her? _

Luke groaned, _even my own mind doesn't believe me! That is just not right. _

---

Later on in the week, Mara decided to try to meditate before she went to bed. She had received minimal training on the subject, and wanted to see how far she could get.

Mara sat down cross-legged on the cold floor. She closed her eyes, and focused on the Force flowing around her. She started with the strength of the Force she felt within her, and made her way out. Her aura floated through her room, and out into the corridors. Mara tried to explore the entire base as a whole, but found herself not able to reach that depth. She tried again, but could not concentrate enough. Frustrated, she opened her emerald eyes and got ready for bed. All the while, Mara was beginning to feel very annoyed at herself.

_Why the kriff can I not meditate worth sithspit? Am I supposed to be completely reliant on my master when it comes to areas like these? _

Mara frowned, not sure how she felt about her rebellious thought towards her master.

_If you really want to learn how to meditate better, all you have to do is –_

_I know, I know, don't remind me. _Mara interrupted the little voice, not wanting to think about how training with Luke could help her.

_It would only be a little training, it's not like you'd become a Jedi or anything. _

_Oh Force no, _Mara thought with a newfound fear. _I am _not_ going to be a Jedi. _

_What if you only trained a little bit, just for meditation? _

Mara frowned again, _whose side are you on, any ways?? Why do YOU care if I train with Luke or not? _

_Just trying to help you out, honey. _

_Well it doesn't seem like it's working, _Mara shot back.

The voice was silent for a moment, as if it was thinking carefully about what to say next.

_Well that's a bit unnerving. _Mara thought with a bit of humor, _my mind has a… well, mind of it's own. _

The voice was back. _Do you want to learn how to meditate better? _

_Well, yes… _Mara replied reluctantly.

_Then for Force's sake just train with Luke already! It's not gonna hurt you. _

Mara didn't bother to reply. Maybe it would be ok if she trained with Luke, just for touching up on her skills and such? It might even be a good laugh at times, watching Luke try to teach things she might know better than he.

So, Mara made up her mind. She would train with Luke, _but only a little bit_, she reminded herself.

With that decision made up, Mara fell asleep.

---

The next day, Mara went on with her usual schedule. She had decided that she was not going to go out of her way to find Luke. In the afternoon, Mara walked briskly to the flight stimulators. She turned a corner and nearly collided with Luke. _Well, _she thought with slight amusement. _I certainly didn't go out of my way to find him. _

"Oh, Arica," Luke smiled. "Sorry about that."

Mara smiled in return, "No problem." She was not sure how exactly to tell him of her decision. Mara hesitated for a minute, not wanting to walk away quite yet.

Luke looked down at his chrono, "I've got to be…"

_It's now or never… Tell him! _

"...somewhere, so I'll see you-"

"Wait," Mara started talking quickly. "I thought about what you said earlier this week."

Luke piqued with interest.

"And I was thinking, maybe it wouldn't hurt if you trained me a little bit, just when I have some spare time."

"Really?" Luke's voice was filled with surprise. "That's great!"

Before Luke started to tell Mara in great detail of his plans, she quickly told him, "I've got to be at the flight simulator, we can discuss this later."

"Ok," Luke thought quickly for a moment. "Meet me in the hanger at the end of the day, and we can start today."

Mara, who was already walking away, merely agreed. "Sounds good."

---

As the young Jedi entered the hanger with a small bag, he saw Mara casually leaning against an X-Wing. Luke had thought about training her all day, and wasn't sure how to begin. Force, he wasn't sure how to teach at _all. _But Luke figured if he just started with the basics, what he had started out with, everything would fall into place.

Mara watched Luke enter the hanger, and she could tell from the feeling he was projecting that he was very unsure of how to go about this business. Mara was also unsure of how to act. She knew she would have to "play dumb", but how dumb? Luke was strong in the Force, if she wasn't careful, he would see right pass her act. Raising her mental shield high, Mara left her post at the X-Wing.

"I thought maybe we could start with some basic stuff, like what Ben taught to me," Luke told her.

Mara nodded, and she knew whatever he was about to teach her, she had probably already learned nearly fifteen years ago.

Luke pulled out a small, round training droid and helmet out of his bag. "Do you still have that lightsaber you found on the Death Star?"

Mara had figured he would ask her this, so she had left it back in her quarters. If Luke were to ever see that lightsaber ignited, he would see that it is in fact violet, not blue.

"I'm not really sure where it is," Mara tried to add a bit of sheepishness in her voice.

"That's fine. You can use mine." Luke handed over his lightsaber, which had originally been his father's.

"Thanks," Mara said simply, as she ignited the lightsaber.

"Alright," Luke picked up the helmet and placed over Mara's head. He pulled down the blast shield.

Mara remembered exercises strangely like this in her childhood.

_You've got to be kidding me. This is going to be so easy! _

Mara quickly returned to her act, and said with a bit of nervousness in her voice, "I can't see anything with this stupid blast shield pulled over!"

"That's the point." Mara heard Luke turn on the droid. "Just use your feelings – let the Force flow through you."

_Pssh, these Jedi had it easy, I never got to let the Force just 'flow through me'. That's gotta be easier than having anger surge through your veins, as your master berates you on every little thing. _

Mara frowned inwardly at her thought, not sure where it had come from.

_Ok,_ Mara told herself. _No showing off, I gotta let this droid beat me a couple of times. _

Mara stood perfectly still, and focused on the little round droid floating in front of her. She pictured it in her mind, and with the Force, saw what it was going to do a split second before it did. Mara reacted instantly, only doing what came natural to her. Half way through lifting the lightsaber she quickly remembered her act, and made the block look sloppy and unsure.

"Good job, Arica!" Mara heard Luke's praise. "You blocked the first one!"

The training droid quickly sent out two more bolts, in which Mara decided she would catch the first one, but no the second. She did just that, and winced only slightly when the sting hit her.

Mara continued to practice with the droid, and soon she became very annoyed at having to purposely mess up. Frustration began to well up inside her – all she wanted to do was fight up to her full potential! As a set of five bolts came flying after her, her frustration exploded and blocked the bolts with deafening speed and grace. After realizing what she did, Mara silently cursed herself. She angrily took the helmet off.

"I've had enough of this little droid here," Mara gestured towards it. "Turn him off."

Luke complied, and turned to Mara.

"Arica, you did an amazing job on that last one; I think you're going to catch on to everything really quick."

Mara shrugged. "Are we done for today?"

"Yeah, sure," came Luke's reply. "Want to meet here tomorrow?"

Mara wasn't sure how to reply to that, because she had only wanted to do this a couple times a week. Finally, she said, "I have so many other things I have to do, could we just practice a couple times a week?"

Luke didn't seem too disappointed, that which Mara was grateful for. It bothered her to see him upset, and it bothered her even more that it bothered her in the first place.

"Night," Mara called out to him as she left the hanger.

"Good night. May the Force be with you." Came the reply.

**Next chapter should be out in a couple of days, so please review, review, review! **


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter is a little shorter than usual, sorry. **

**Chapter Nine**

The whole week Arica managed to avoid Luke. Luke knew she was doing it on purpose, but for the life of him did not know why.

_Obviously it's about her training, but what about it?_

The question bugged Luke day and night, until finally, the busy rebel commander found time to go out of his way to find the stubborn young woman. He headed for the hanger, having a feeling that he would find her there. Sure enough, Luke spotted his friend working on her X-Wing.

Mara was not in any way mechanically gifted, but she knew the basics, and liked to tinker with her X-Wing when she had the spare time. As she crouched down to examine the underside of one of the wings, she tensed up, feeling Luke's presence as he entered the hanger. Knowing that he had already seen her, she knew it was useless to avoid him. Mara stood up, completely forgetting she was still underneath the X-Wing's wing, and with a loud thud bumped her head.

_Sithspit,that hurt! _

Mara moved out from underneath her the wing and placed her hands on her head ruefully. She knew Luke had saw, and she got a bit annoyed when she sensed the amusement coming from him.

"Its not funny." She told him, trying to maintain a frown.

"Who says I'm laughing?" Luke also tried to maintain a straight face, but failed.

"I can – " Mara almost said 'sense it', but decided not to bring up the Force if she could help it. " – tell."

Luke merely smiled in return, and walked over to Mara's X-Wing, leaning casually against it.

"Well," he began, "I didn't come over her to just watch you bump your head. I was going to ask you how come you don't want to train any more."

Mara sighed, she had known he would ask her this eventually. "I don't know," she replied, staring down at her boots. "I'm so busy already, and this will only complicate things." Mara knew this was a lame excuse, and could tell Luke did, too.

Luke knew there was more to it than her answer, but also knew he wouldn't get anything out of her if she didn't want him to. "I don't see how it would complicate things," he told her, deciding to find the faults in her excuse. "And if you have enough time to tinker with your X-Wing, one would think you'd have enough time to train."

Mara wanted to glared at Luke, not liking how easily it had been for him to throw out her excuse. But his large blue orbs discouraged her from doing so, and instead she replied,

"Fine, you can start teaching me again."

All to enthusiastic for Mara's taste, Luke replied, "Do you want to train some right now?"

"Sure, why not."

---

After some lightsaber training, Luke decided to teach Arica the art of meditation. She didn't seem too keen on the idea, but agreed nonetheless.

"Sit down like so," he told her, sitting down on the ground, crossing his legs. "And close your eyes."

Mara complied, and was slightly surprised at how similar his meditation habits were to hers.

"Now, just breathe slowly and relax yourself."

Again, Mara did just that, and took in a sharp breath when Luke reached out and held her hands. Her entire body tensed up, and said in a warning tone, "Skywalker… What are you –"

"It's fine, Arica, this will help you. Just relax."

Mara slowly let the tension leave her body, and tried not to think of how warm Luke's strong hands felt on hers.

Mara began to go through the very same technique she had a couple of weeks ago, and barely heard Luke tell her to "let the Force flow through you".

Just as Mara began to make some progress, she felt a demanding presence enter her head.

_No, no, no! Not now! _

Mara knew who it was, and sharply pulled her hands away from Luke's and placed them on her forehead with pressure.

Mara could feel Luke's confusion, and heard him say,

"Arica, what, what are you doing? Are you alright?"

Mara knew her master would start to speak with her any moment, and wanted to rush back to her room as fast as possible.

"I, uh," she hurredly explained to Luke. "I just got this huge headache, I need to go back to my room and take some meds for it."

Mara did feel pain from Palpatine's demanding presence, so in a way, she was telling the truth.

Luke nodded, and told her as she nearly ran out of the hanger, "tell me if you need anything."

After she left, Luke sat on the hanger floor, slightly dumbfounded.

_Well that was weird;_ _I hope it wasn't something I did wrong that caused her that headache... _Luke thought with a small amount of guilt seeping in. But then he remembered the bump she had gotten on her head not more than two hours ago. _Maybe that's where the headache is coming from. _But deep inside, Luke knew that wasn't the reason, and felt that Arica wasn't telling him the complete truth about her pain.

**Hope you liked it! Review, please!**


	10. Chapter 10

**And here's Chapter Ten!**

**Chapter Ten**

Mara ran back to her room, ignoring the strange looks she was receiving. In her room, she closed the door and knelt on the floor.

"_What is it, my Master?" _

Palpatine replied with a question, _"YOU TOOK A LONG TIME TO REPLY, WHY IS THAT?" _

Mara made sure her shields her firmly placed in her mind, and replied, _"I am sorry, I had to get somewhere private, so not to arouse suspicion." _

"_IT HAS BEEN OVER TWO YEARS SINCE I LAST CONTACTED YOU, HAVE YOU BEEN FAITHFUL TO YOUR MISSION?" _

"_Yes, Master. I have kept a datapad of information I have gathered from the rebels." _

"_GOOD. NOW I HAVE A NEW ASSIGNMENT FOR YOU: YOU MUST KILL OR CAPTURE LUKE SKYWALKER." _

Mara felt like the wind had been knocked out of her, and sat there, stunned for a moment. She thought for a moment, _How the Force am I supposed to kill or capture him? _Just thinking about it brought a sick feeling to her stomach, and suddenly Mara felt very confused.

In her shock, Mara's shields had dropped momentarily, and her master undoubtedly sensed her feelings.

"_I SENSE CONFUSION IN YOU, HAND. WHY IS THAT?" _

Mara could hear the warning tone in his voice, and raised her shields firmly again.

"_I have no confusion, my Master. I will do as I am told." _

"_I AM NOT SO CERTAIN OF THAT, JADE. I SENSE STRANGE FEELINGS IN YOU… IT SEEMS TO ME YOU HAVE GOTTEN TO CLOSE TO THESE REBELS –"_

Mara cursed herself, how could she have even thought she could lie to him?

"– _ESPECIALLY ONE. DO YOU HAVE… FEELINGS FOR THE JEDI?" _

Mara did not reply, she knew it was useless to persuade him otherwise.

"_YOU DISGUST ME, JADE! YOU HAVE BECOME LIKE ONE OF THEM, AND YOU HAVE FAILED ME. _

Mara could not take it much longer, she needed time to think, and without realizing what her consequences might be, Mara tried to break contact between her master and her.

Mara knew it would hurt, but did not realize at what magnitude. As she tried to pull away from her master's presence in her mind, waves of pain began to crash on her. Her head throbbed, and it was all she could do to stop herself from screaming.

Suddenly, his presence left her head, and a strong wave of relief came over her, along with a new wave of pain.

_He must have pulled himself away, _Mara thought with realization. _There's no way I could have pushed him out. _Knowing her master well, Mara knew that he would be back soon, and be even angrier with her. At the moment, though, she decided to deal with the storm inside her head. Although, there wasn't much for her to do – no medication ever worked with these kind headaches for her.

_Curse these fracking headaches. _

----------

After Luke left the hanger, he headed for his quarters. He made a nice cup of hot chocolate – one of his favorite hot drinks – and decided to bring it to Arica, knowing how much it could help a headache.

Once he reached her quarters, he knocked lightly on the door. He heard a mumble that sounded strangely like "who is it", and replied,

"It's Luke, may I come in?"

More mumbling ensued, and Luke decided to take that as a yes. Upon entering the room, he saw Arica lying on her bed facedown, her golden red hair spread across the pillow.

"I, uh, brought you some hot chocolate," Luke told her, suddenly feeling quiet.

Arica lifted her head from the pillow, and pushed back her hair from her face. "Hot chocolate?" Her face looked inquisitive.

"You've never had hot chocolate before?" Luke looked incredulous. "Its my favorite hot drink, and always helps a headache."

Arica sat up fully on her bed, legs crossed. She signaled for Luke to hand her the cup, which he complied. Holding the steaming cup in two hands, she peered down into it. She shrugged, and lifted the cup to her full lips and took a sip.

Luke sat down in a nearby chair, and asked, "Do you like it?"

Arica contemplated for a moment, then said, "it's a bit sweet for my taste, but it's not bad."

Luke smiled, knowing this was an optimistic reply for her. As Luke watched Arica continue to sip the drink, he asked, "Is there anything else I can get for you? How is your head?"

"My head is definitely feeling better; most of the time these headaches just fade with time." Arica looked up from the drink and smiled. "As for needing anything, this is great. Thanks."

Luke was taken back at her gratitude, and stumbled for words. "Um, your welcome." Luke paused for a moment, then told her, "I guess I'll let you get some rest. I hope you feel better."

Luke got up and left the room, taking one last look at the young women. She looked up, smiled, and Luke smiled in return as he left her quarters.

----------

Once Luke left the room, Mara's shoulders sagged, and placed the now cold drink on a small table.

_I can't kill him! He's such a good friend, so sweet and caring. _Mara frowned, her mind fully remembering what her master had said about her. _I really am like one of them, now. I'm more of a rebel than the Emperor's Hand. Can I ever turn back? _She wondered. _Would I if I were given the chance? Force, what am I saying? I WAS given the chance – I have to kill Luke Skywalker! _Mara's frown deepened, fully realizing her situation.

_Option A: Kill or capture Luke and regain my master's trust, remain the Emperor's Hand, and help destroy the Rebel Alliance, which I have been living with for the past two years. _

_Option B: Disobey my master, suffer the consequences, and, if I live, remain in the Rebel Alliance and… what? _

Mara wasn't sure what she would do if she stayed with the rebels.

_Eventually destroy the Empire?_

Two years ago Mara would never had thought the Alliance had a chance, but now that she had lived with them for two years, she could see they were very organized and could in fact destroy the Empire eventually.

_If the Empire were destroyed, what would I do? _

These endless questions boggled Mara's mind, certainly not helping the now small headache she had. To her, Option A certainly looked more appealing in terms of not facing her master's wrath. But could she betray her friends like that? Could she hurt Luke? Again her stomach churned at the thought of doing anything bad to Luke, and Mara was not sure how she felt about that.

**:) :) Thanks for reading! **** :) :) Oh, and only 20 more reviews and it will reach 100!! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys, I realized its been since April when I last updated, and I feel really bad 'cos this chapter was practically ready! I haven't really been doing much with fanfiction and all recently, but I'm still committed to this story. This chapter is kind of short, but I'm working on more chapters right now. ******

**Chapter Eleven**

_The Executor _

Darth Vader had sent out probe droids a little bit over a month ago to find his son, and yet no positive results had come back. Because of this, Vader was in an unusually foul mood, and thinking of his son only dampened it further. Turning his thoughts away from Luke, he instead focused them on the boy's mother, whom his son had undoubtedly never met. Recently Vader had thought about revisiting Padmé's grave, just to see if there was anything he had missed before. Now that Vader had a hope of his angel being alive, visiting her home world might shed some light. With that thought, Vader decided to set course for Naboo.

---

_A few days later_

_Rebel base on Hoth_

After a long day, including another training session with Luke, Mara fell asleep very quickly. She slept soundly until the early hours of the morning, when she suddenly woke up from a familiar and dreaded feeling in her head.

Mara knew exactly what it was.

Without waiting for Mara to speak, Palpatine said, _"JADE, I AM WARNING YOU RIGHT NOW – COMPLETE YOUR MISSION, OR DIE AN IMPERIAL TRAITOR." _

Mara was still so confused, and did not know how to respond. She knew if she did not respond soon, he would take that as disobedience. Mara thought about her choices once again, and winced at the feeling of leaving the Alliance, leaving her friends, leaving… Luke. Well, actually he would be leaving her, since she would be killing him…

_Kriff, it, Jade! _ She told herself. _Look at yourself; you've become so weak. _

_I don't know if I can do it! I don't think I could kill or cause harm to happen to him, or anyone else on this blasted ice planet. Force, grown so attached. _

"_I…" _Mara began, unsure of what to say_. "I don't know..."_

"_YOUR INDECISION SHOWS YOU TO BE WEAK. YOU HAVE FAILED ME FOR THE LAST TIME, JADE. I WARNED YOU, NOW, YOU WILL PAY. AND DIE A TRAITOR TO YOUR MASTER." _

Mara expected to feel Force energy bolts come crashing down on her any moment, or just to explode into tiny little pieces, but to her amazement, nothing happened. His presence left her mind, and, besides from the normal headache, she was fine.

_What the heck…? _

But Mara knew her master well enough that he would indeed make good on his threat. It was with that thought that she realized she has completely turned her back on the Empire.

_I've been doing it a little bit each day ever since I joined them, I suppose. _Mara mused sadly. And then, Mara broke down. All sorts of emotions jumbled together ran through her. Part of her felt like she had just committed suicide, for she knew he would do _something _to her eventually, and another part of her felt strangely and slightly relieved to not have to destroy her friend. And another part of her felt alone, cold, and depressed. She had been trained to be the Emperor's Hand since before she could remember, and she had just thrown that all away! With all these thoughts and feelings, her headache grew, and her body began to ache. She felt as if she was about to cry; she had just turned her back on her master, her only father figure she ever knew. Mara wrapped her arms around her knees, and sat on the corner of her bed, with tears silently rolling down her cheeks.

_What the Force is wrong with me?? _Her thoughts wondered. _When was the last time I cried? _Mara honestly could not remember, but it only bothered her slightly.

----------

Luke sat straight up in his bed, wondering what had woken him up. Then he remembered – someone was projecting emotional and physical pain, and they seemed to be blasting it right in his face! It was not just someone, however, it was Arica.

_What is going on with her lately??_ Luke wondered, all the while grabbing his shirt and throwing it on. He tried to reach Arica through the Force, but she was blocking out everything at the moment. He quickly ran to her room, and tapped on the door.

"Arica?" Luke inquired.

She did not answer, and so Luke unlocked the door with the Force and walked into her room. Sitting on the far corner of her bed, against the wall, Luke saw Arica hugging her knees to her chest and crying. Upon seeing him, she wiped some tears from her face and Luke walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What's the matter, Arica?"

She looked down and said nothing, shaking her head. Luke sat down on her bed and wrapped his arms around her, not sure what else to do. He was surprised when he noticed that her body was shaking.

Arica turned her head into his chest and continued to sob softly.

A little while later, Luke noticed Arica had fallen asleep, and he gently removed his arms from around her. He pulled a blanket over her, and quietly left her room, heading back to his own.

_The next day _

Mara woke up, and instantly recalled the early morning's events. She remembered Palpatine contacting her, she refusing to obey him, she turning into an emotional train wreck, Luke coming in to comfort her, she falling asleep in his arms… _Wait, what?? _Mara thought again, and realized it was true. _Well that's REALLY embarrassing… _

Deciding not to think about what had happened, she quickly took a shower and got dressed. Once Mara got her breakfast in the mess hall, she sat down, and proceeded to move her food around the plate, not eating much of it.

A few minutes later, Luke sat down across the table. Mara noticed him, and looked up.

"Um, thanks, I guess, for… last night." Mara mumbled her gratitude, swallowing her pride.

Luke smiled in reply. "You feeling better?"

Mara really did not want to go into detail, but replied quickly, "Um, yeah."

"That's good," was the only reply that came.

_What? No asking why the Force I was acting so weird? _

Mara had no clue why Luke did not ask, but she was extremely thankful.

**Thanks for reading! **

**Btw, only three more reviews until 100! **

**Jaded-Skywalker **


End file.
